A/N: Hi everyone~ here's Chapter Three of my newest Kingdom Hearts story!
Not much to say about this chapter, other than this is the start of a few little side stories that will tag along in the main storyline of this whole thing. It'll be interesting to see if this chapter is going to look too full come the end of it~

Also, I know this story is in early days right now, but I'm going to ask to please write more reviews if you're reading. They inspire me more than you can imagine and I haven't really been getting that many, which is sorta disheartening.. so write those reviews!

Enjoy Chapter three!

Chapter Three
Protect

'Where is he..?'

Blue eyes scanned the area as Terra grew more and more impatient. He was uncomfortable sitting on his bench alone with Ventus' bags like some sort of pack mule. Even if he had offered, he now regretted it because Ventus had been gone a while.
The brunet had watched how Demyx had dragged his Southern redheaded friend to the corner of the track to cheer on Vanitas, and how Reno had peeled away from their attention to, no doubt, go somewhere for a quiet smoke away from the prying eyes of the coaches dotted around the running grounds.

As if on cue; Xehanort appeared in the corner of Terra's vision, his hands clasped behind his back and his slightly slouched frame bobbing with every wide step towards the Junior. Terra looked to him and the motion seemed to snap the elder out of his thoughts. His scowl fell into a false smile.

"Ah, Terra. I trust you are feeling confident for your performance?" His student nodded perfunctorily and spoke loudly, positively.

"Yes, Master." Xehanort's smirk seemed to become genuine at that, entertained somewhat by the fact that Terra always seemed to keep his manners and politeness even in the midst of an important battle. He observed the Junior's moderately muscled physique and grunted inwardly at his own misfortune for having to be burdened with Ventus when there were students like Terra who proved themselves to be so much more worthy of his coaching, time and effort.
He reached out with an absent-mindedly hand and patted the brunet's shoulder heavy-handedly, shaking in his words.

"You'll do well. Don't let me down." Again, more of a command than encouragement but Terra looked past that. He was used to get praise – if you could call it that – from the Northern Coach, more so than anybody else on the team. He nodded and Xehanort was gone before he could answer.
His eyes didn't follow his Master. Instead, his gaze shot over the far side of the track where, stood in their own little group which had peeled away from the main clumps of eager students, where the majority of the West Island's Struggle Combat team.
A silver haired figure rounded in Terra's direction and – as if he knew they had been the subject of the Northerner's observations for quite some time now – waved him over.

-o-

Ventus appeared from out behind the bleachers a few minutes after Xehanort had. He had just received a stern talking to, and had been told to focus more on preparing for his assessment and not what his friends were doing. The blond knew it was in his best interests to listen to that 'advice', and so he stayed rather out of sight and leaned his lesser-bruised shoulder against the metal scaffolding of the bleachers.

He surveyed the field, taking note of where everybody he knew was so he wouldn't have to work to avoid them. He was shaking; the Master's talks never really got any easier to recover from, even after so many years of being exposed to his punitive words and exacting dissatisfactions, but he shook the thoughts from his mind and let his stare land on the new match that must've just started up.

Two figures battled it out in the centre area of the field. Through the surrounding blare of the audiences' idle conversations and –every once in a while – cheering, he could recognise the seemingly lesser-able of the two fighters. Pence… uh, he wasn't sure of his second name. They had only really conversed a few times and that was last year, when they were both freshmen, and the Tournament had been held in Pence's school – the East Island. He watched as the East-Islander struggled to even keep track of where his opponent was. His eyes darting around, his head constantly turning, his feet seemingly fixated… The East island had never really been… well, good at these battles, but Ven cheered them on anyway, and would encourage dark-haired boy to try again next year.

When Ventus caught sight of who Pence was battling, he felt a jump in his chest and immediately gripped the metal pole he was leaning against tighter.
Deep shadowy hair, flavescent eyes and movements quick enough to blur… Vanitas made it look like so easy, these Struggles; like they were more of a game to him.

It was scarcely three seconds after Ventus had spotted the ravenette that he lunged forward and delivered a painful blow to the East-islander's chest which proved enough to propel him backwards like he was nothing. The Southerner kept his stance for little more than a second before straightening up as the match was announced 'over by loss of consciousness', only to be tackled by a very happy-sounding Demyx and patted on the shoulder by a tall redhead with tattoos under his eyes.
As Vanitas shoved the blonde's chest and knocked the taller of the three's hand away, Ventus chose to turn his gaze elsewhere before he caught the other's attention. He bit his lip and stepped towards the field but immediately turned and started to make his down to his first seat from before, with Terra, if he was still there.
He kept his head low and angled away and stared at the ground; only noticing footsteps in front of him a split second before he felt his body come into contact with another.

"S-Sorry, I.." He trailed off when he recognised the shorter blond straight away. Rhyme, the girl from the first battle, looked up at him with an apologetic smile and raised her palms.

"Oh, no, it was nothing, it's okay! I wasn't looking where I was going~" She scratched the back of her head, her black beanie hat shifting with her fingers. Ventus smiled and crouched down to below her level.

"I saw you during your Struggle, you were really great out there." He nodded along his words and she giggled. "I'm Ventus, where'd you learn to fight like that?" He tilted his head a little at her beaming expression before she turned to point behind her, at a taller and more robust figure slowly approaching.

"I learned everything I know from my big brother, Beat! He told me I would win, no problem, and I did!" She seemed proud and only got happier as the capped male reached behind her, his expression was frowning and intimidating. Ventus stood up and offered a meek smile.

"H-Hey there, I was just congra—"

"Yo, Rhyme, let's go."

"But Beat, I-" He scoffed and continued on, practically storming off, and knocked Ventus' shoulder as he went past. Rhyme shrugged with another of her apologetic smiles and followed in his footsteps with a light wave. "Bye, Ventus. Good luck for your Struggle!" And she scurried off, leaving the sophomore waving after her before he turned to continue his walk to the bench with his bags, rubbing his shoulder.

It wasn't long before he reached said bench and looked around, scratching his head. Said bench was extremely empty; the only thing that had been left on it was Ventus' bag – no Terra, nothing. He hardly had time to look for the brunet before he heard the familiar static over the microphone and an announcement which stopped his search in its tracks.

"Ventus Loza-Zackery, you're up next. Approach the stand to choose your weapon!"

-o-o-o-

"Hey, Vani! Shiki and I are heading over to this place's cafeteria to get some ice cream, you coming?" Axel waved to an eager redhead, who had already started to make her way to the main building and was growing impatient. When he was answered with silence, the fiery Junior turned back over his shoulder and raised an eyebrow. "Vanitas?"

Vanitas stood with his back to Axel and the Southern team as a group. His arms were folded and his feet were planted firmly on the grass with no intent of moving any time soon. Axel wandered over; leaning down a bit to follow the other's stare and was directed to the Struggle match taking place at that moment.
"..Oh."

He almost felt Vanitas taking in breaths beside him as he watched, an absent frown plastered across his face as Axel's offers fell on practically deaf ears.
Ventus was up against a taller, stronger-looking silverette and what was worse; he was from the West Island. If Shiki's gossip stories were anything to go by, they were bad news and although the ravenette wasn't quite sure why, he couldn't look away from the fight taking place.
Axel let out a humourless laugh after realizing something.

"What is he doing out there!" Vanitas peeled his attention away to aim a glare up at the redheaded Junior which begged for elaboration, so Axel complied with a smirk and frustrated motions with his hands. "That kid's going to get himself killed out there making dumbass choices like that. Picking a Bat over Nunchucks? He should know by now not to get within a two metre radius of those bad boys and what does he do? Pick a close-range weapon. Ha! I give him another minute before he's out cold." Vanitas didn't want to hear any more and turned back to the field, re-tightening his folded arms as Axel slung one of his own over his friend's shoulders.
"Look, Vani, Blondie out there doesn't stand a chance, and even if –God forbid – he does manage to steal a win, how long's he going to survive in this Tournament? I mean, look at him." The shorter Junior knocked the arm away and grit his teeth, unsure of why Axel poking fun at Ventus was getting him so angry.
Axel only shook his head with a knowing smirk and turned to answer a fairly irritated and impatient Shiki.
"I'm just sayin'. It's like watching Bambi on Ice out there."

-o-

Ventus almost lost his balance as he felt his body being shoved back and his feet skid across the dirt, making tracks. He quickly guarded against an attack which lapped into three more assaults; one connecting with his forearm with enough force to bruise later. He took advantage of the split second gap between the next barrage of hits and ran, using his speed to create distance between himself and the other.

His opponent's name – he had missed the announcement but he had learned by the cheers and encouragement from the West Island's team – was Yazoo, and Ventus knew nothing of this person's fighting style. Yazoo had picked the last of the three weapons available – two separate golden and forked handles connected by a blue and malleable chain that could be extended up to two metres in length. In training, Ventus had learned to counter every one of the weapons and knew that the Nunchucks were best avoided in battle. He was at a disadvantage and he knew he would be punished for his choice later.

Each of the three weapons had pros and cons; the Hammer was the Strength weapon. It would do well against the Nunchucks but would leave the Struggler wide open for swift slices from a Bat. The Nunchucks were best for pinning opponents and worked best against the Bat, which would easily tangle in the chain the forked ends of the handles and leave the Struggler susceptible to being pinned whilst defenceless. It was a game of rock, paper, scissors, when it came down to it. And, sticking to what he knew best, Ventus gripped his Bat handle and kept a two-and-a-half-metre distance between himself and Yazoo, who was sporting a childish grin.

"What's wrong, little one, scared?" He smirked, arms motioning vividly as if including his audience, who encouraged his mocking. Ventus only kept a glare and countered his advances with backwards steps. "I would be too. Don't worry, I'm sure your mommy will be proud that you at least got this far." The blonde's eyes flashed.

'He's doing it, too.'

"I'll make it easy for you. Why don't you just let the more capable Struggler win so you can run on home in time for dinner?"

'..He's doing what Terra and Aqua always do. And Everyone.'

"..I'm not a little kid!"
Ventus sprang forward, Bat in hand, and lunged at the Westerner. He kept his grip low to allow adequate swing and his back arched for mobility as he circled round the silverette's side in a second and raised his weapon to strike.
What he missed in all this, was Yazoo stretching his arms and lengthening his chain, which he then shot out to encase the blonde's arms in a locked position. Ventus was spun round so his back was to the other and felt a piercing pain shoot up from his left foot and took in a sharp breath. Yazoo whispered close to his ear. Ventus could feel his smirk even over the roars of the Western Island's competitors.

"You should've guessed you were outmatched from the star-.." He trailed off and Ventus blinked. Yazoo's attention was directed towards his team now, at one of the members in particular.

Kadaj stood without smiling and kept a lowered hand motioning a "no" and Yazoo immediately retracted his chain, setting Ventus free.

The sophomore gladly took the opportunity to swoop down for his Bat, round in on his opponent and strike his chest, hard.
Yazoo fell backwards and the blond was close behind. Unsure of how he had even gotten out of that hold, he slammed one knee with all his weight down on the silverette's chest and pitted the 'blade' of the Bat against his neck, glaring down in his confusion as the timer started.

Three electric bleeps and it was over.
The Northern, Southern and Eastern teams erupted into cheer; all having come to an anti-West truce over the years of falling victim to their tactics.
Yazoo didn't move to get up from his pinned-down position straight away, which left a window for Ventus to question.

"Why didn't you.. pin me?" He enquired pointedly, slowly pulling the Bat away from his neck so he could talk. Yazoo only smirked and pushed against the sophomore's chest to get him off.

"Team Leader's orders, kiddo. What, you really thought you had a chance out here?" He shrugged sarcastically whilst standing and quickly made his leave, triggering a disordered glare from the younger as he was left in the dust in more ways than one.

-o-

Vanitas felt his chest finally deflate as Ventus was declared the winner of his assessment match. He made quick work of hiding his relief by turning away from the field and dipping down to throw his bag over his shoulder. He didn't intend on staying here for the blonde's celebration. If he got to the Ferry now, he'd still have time to see Siobhan before getting back to Yuffie.
As if she knew he wasn't planning on staying, Shiki skipped back into view on the far side of the pitch and waved with her unoccupied hand, signalling for Vanitas to stay where he was as she hurried over, Axel dragging his feet behind.

A loud call from behind him made the ravenette startle a little but he swiftly regained his composure as he turned to see Demyx shouting over to the two redheads, his hands cupped round his mouth to throw his voice out.

"Shiki, Ax! Get over here!" He lowered his hands and grinned, reaching over to tug on Vanitas' arm. "Come congratulate the winner! This is your chance to talk to him!" He encouraged, meaning Ventus. Vanitas just narrowed his eyes and yanked his arm back and kept his back to the field without a word.
By now, Shiki had almost reached them and Axel had given up trying to run to catch up to her in favour of eating his blue-tinted ice cream before it melted in the Island's heat. Demyx only shrugged at the ravenette's attitude and ran back into the centre field, gesturing for Shiki to follow him, to join in with a small group that had formed around a very bewildered blond.

"Ven!" The mulleted Junior clapped him happily on the back, earning a winced smile. "You did great out there, buddy!" Ventus shrugged his thanks and his attention was quickly fought for. Xion had come over with Namine and Kairi, meaning either the two had both skipped their lessons to come out here and watch the matches, or it was lunch time already. Reno had also made his way over, ruffling the blonde's spikes with a chuckle and a joke about placing money on him. They each hugged and patted and cheered him on and it reminded him of why he did this. Not because of Xehanort's forceful training or expectations, but this… proving himself and showing that he wasn't a little kid anymore – he could do this.

"Heh, thanks guys, but really it was nothing." He laughed a little nervously and reached a hand up to scratch the back of his head. Reno scoffed disapprovingly and the girls squabbled a counter, determined to convince him otherwise. Ventus couldn't help but feeling, however, a little disheartened. His opponent had had him in a lock and should have pinned him…why didn't he? Why did he let him win so easily?

He shook the questions from his thoughts and peered over Kairi's left shoulder, at the Principle's stand where Xehanort stood beside the bearded man with his hands held behind his back again, staring. He knew what that look meant.

"I should probably go to see the Master, see how I did.." He took one step back and grimaced, almost falling over before Demyx caught him by the arm.

"Hey, you okay, Venven? You hurt yourself?" Ventus shook his head and ignored the throbbing in his ankle. Probably a sprain from the fight. He pulled out of the Junior's grip and turned to the stand.

"I'll be fine, it's nothing. I'll be back soon, don't worry." He flashed a smile and Demyx believed him somewhat reluctantly as he turned back to the group with a shrug and a casual wave. Ventus felt his smile slowly slipping away as he limped towards the platform, and towards Xehanort – who looked as irritated and serious as ever.

-o-

"So, tell me again why I had to give up my win to that scrawny brat?" Yazoo wasn't impressed. His question was aimed at the one who had caused the loss. Kadaj was smirking.

"Be patient, Brother. I was merely planning ahead." Kadaj's smile made Terra shudder and he stayed put as the silver-haired Westerner stood and circled around him slowly. "I just wanted to set up a little test to make sure we could trust our new friend, here." The brunet frowned uncomfortably and Kadaj stopped when he reached the front of him again, that smirk still evident across his features. "That scrawny brat, as Yazoo put it, is clearly very important to you, isn't he? I guess it's only right for you to choose."
Terra's glare was locked in eye contact with the silverette, blue orbs meeting turquoise in a silent dispute. "Him," Kadaj broke the connection, stepping back towards his group with Yazoo and the third of the brothers, Loz, either side of him. "Or us."

None of them expected Terra to give an answer right then and there, but they all knew what he would say if they did. The brunet's encounters with these three had grown more and more frequent and he had already noticed a change in himself because of them, he was becoming more like them. And what was worse was he didn't mind that. In fact, he accepted it, he just didn't like this acceptance being brought to attention like some kind of weakness, so he didn't answer.

Terra turned away from the group and was met with a set of concerned blue eyes, matched with a frown.

"Terra?" Aqua folded her arms and glanced behind her classmate, raising her eyebrow accusingly. "What are you.. doing here with them?" The brunet found himself at a loss for words and this only worried her more. "..Is something the matter?" More silence and Terra averted his gaze. Aqua took note of his change in demeanour and stepped forward, changing the subject.
"I came to look for you so we could go and congratulate Ventus. He just won his first assessment, didn't you watch it?" She tilted her head, her suspicions only worsening when Terra started moving again and brushed past her.

"I'll see him later." He murmured elusively, not giving his friend the time to answer before he was out of sight, lost in the crowds by the bleachers. Aqua sighed. The Western team had spotted the encounter by now and were whooping and mocking out to her, so she thought it best to be on her way and avoid them before they started to cause trouble.

-o-

Ventus stayed put on the platform, behind Xehanort, and waited as the names of the next two Struggle contenders were called out.

"Go on, Demyx.." He whispered under his breath as his Southern friend ambled onto the centre field towards the platform. He would win this for sure, Ventus had no doubts of that. What he was scared of, however, was the safety of the Junior's opponent.

The opponent was a freshman, and that much was clear by the size of him. He had taken his shoes off to fight bare foot, which was a technique favoured by few and had a thick and tangled mop of curly, brunet hair. His face was also a little dirty, as if he had already had a Struggle battle that day and wasn't given the chance to wash. Ventus had tuned in enough to hear that this boy's name was Denzel, and that he looked terrified.

Both Denzel and Demyx made their way up to the podium and picked their weapons under the same rules the Strugglers before them had faced. Denzel made the same mistake many of the freshmen did, Ven noticed, and went for Strength despite Demyx choosing Speed first.
The sophomore bit his lip as they got into position and kept his eyes on the small boy gripping the Hammer. Demyx was usually pretty easy-going and Ventus could only hope he would go easy on Denzel and just do as much as he needed to pin him, not kill him.

He also noticed, during all this, that neither Terra nor Aqua had come to congratulate him and he thought they would've been the first. They were always encouraging him to try his hardest and sometimes – like earlier that morning, before they got to the running tracks – would bend the truth and make Ventus out to be some sort of decent Struggler, which he knew he wasn't. They simply did that to raise his spirits but to him, it had the opposite effect.
Still, he would've liked them to have seen him fight. He did win after all, even if it was sort of given to him. But Terra was nowhere to be found, and hadn't been since he left to walk with Demyx before..

It was barely half a minute into the match before Ventus felt his body being shoved lightly to one side and he blinked out of his stare to see Xehanort glaring down at him.

"Move, boy. I want a word with you regarding your assessment battle." His voice was low, quiet, not wanting to be heard by the other teaching staff on the platform. Ventus turned and quickly descended the platform and waited to walk behind the man, his head low and dreading his third encounter with the Coach that day.

They moved behind a small wall leading on to a cut-off and shaded section of the field that had been segregated off for these assessment days for equipment storing. As soon as they were out of sight, Xehanort rounded on the boy as his large hand struck out, connecting with Ventus' left shoulder and effectively holding him to the cold wall.

"The Bat?" He demanded, getting straight to his point. Ventus slouched over the pressure to the already-bruised skin and winced painfully. "Do you have any idea how much of a fool you made me look out there? Have I taught you nothing?" His voice was harsh and smarting, whispering but somehow loud enough to fill the air at the same time. "If I knew you were going to waste my time like this, I would have left you for dead all those years ago and never have looked back. You're worthless. You showed yourself up today, and me. I am disappointed in you, Ventus." His words cut through the blond like a knife, dripping with venom.

"I'm.. sorry, I.. I got scared, I-"

"Scared?" Xehanort's eyes flashed and he used an almost mocking tone, his glare boring a hole into the boy's skull. "You were scared? Even after I told you what would happen if you didn't show improvement – that didn't make you more scared?" Ventus remained silent, his head still tilted down until the fist digging into his shoulder shot up to knock his chin upwards, forcing him to look at the elder's copper glare, his own eyes shimmering.
"If that's the case, I'll have to put a little more effort in to making sure I'm the only one you're ever afraid of, won't I?" Xehanort's wrinkled lips pinned up into an evil smirk and he backed away from the boy and made his leave.
The whole thing had taken a little more than three minutes and yet it was enough to shatter Ventus' confidence and self-worth more. All pride or happiness caused by his 'win' fell to his feet and he felt hurt and insignificant and empty.

'Why does it hurt more and more each time you say it..'

-o-

Denzel grunted as he held the metal sheet of the Hammer in front of him for some form of defence from Demyx attacks. After six half-hearted strikes, Demyx jumped backwards and lowered his Bat to talk.

"Look, kid, I don't want to hurt you, but you gotta move at some point, man." He smirked jokingly, trying to let the other know he wasn't all bad. Denzel frowned up at him, noticeably absent-minded and didn't even seem to hear the other's words. He glanced to the side and blinked, losing his frown and lowering his weapon; spotting a familiar figure that seemed more important to him than this fight.
Before Demyx had the chance to swipe at the opportunity, however, Denzel had discarded his weapon, turned on his heels and fled the field.

A loud ringing sound the moment the brunet stepped onto the surrounding running track and the End-of-Struggle clangour sounded. Demyx had won by default. He felt a strange mix of disappointment and relief at the feeling; happy that he didn't have to harm Denzel, who barely looked old enough to be in these matches in the first place, but at the same time… he didn't actually get to fight.

-o-

"Ventus?"

Ventus' eyes shot up to meet the owner of the voice. For the second time that day, Aqua stood in front of a friend, concerned. The blond had slid down the wall into a sitting position and was hugging his legs and when they shared eye contact, Aqua knew why.

"…Ven.." She lowered herself to her knees beside the boy and slowly reached out to caress his damp cheek, as if dealing with a delicate dove who would flap his wings and fly at any sudden movement. "What happened? Why are you crying?" The sophomore lowered his head and wiped his eyes, forcing himself to gain some kind of composure before smiling up at the Junior and shaking his head.

"It.. It's nothing, Aqua. I just hurt my leg is all." He looked down to his ankle which was starting to swell under his black track pants and the Junior winced a little.

"Oh, Ven… can you stand at all?" She asked fearfully whilst standing and holding her hand out to the blond who took it with a nod and pulled himself up. The blunette could tell the smile was false; she had known the younger for enough years to know when he was lying.
"Come on," She pleaded as she helped him back into the main field, hidden behind the platform. "If you smile I'll give you a ride home so you don't have to stay until Xehanort goes, sound good?" She knew that Ventus lived with Xehanort and also knew never to speak of that around the boy if it could be helped. It didn't take a genius to see the nerves or change in behaviour he adopted whenever the Master was near. Clearly, the two didn't completely get along; Ventus still missed his parents.

The sophomore seemed to brighten at the prospect of getting a ride home and nodded, giving his eyes one last wipe. Aqua smiled back and gestured over to the nearest set of bleachers that had a few empty seats and guided Ventus over.

"Now stay here and watch Demyx's Struggle, and I'll see if I can get someone to look at your ankle. It looks like a pretty light sprain but I'd feel better if we got it checked out, regardless." She left soon after settling him down and broke out into a jog, bypassing the West Island's team as best she could. Ventus ignored the feeling of being babied and looked around, subtly, with a slightly lowered head. No Xehanort… it was safe to sit here.

The bellowing sound of the End-of-Struggle buzzer made Ventus jump out of his skin and shook whatever thoughts he had straight out of his head. How could it already be over? Was he really not paying attention that much?
He observed the area and saw Denzel fleeing from the centre field, and Ventus' curiosity immediately crept over him.

Denzel swooped down to collect his shoes as he ran over to the other end of the field from Ventus; the gateway, where all four teams had entered.
The blond looked around briefly for any signs of Aqua, or anybody else who would try to stop him, and tried to suppress his limping as he followed, intent of trying to help if something was bothering the freshmen. What exactly had caused him to forfeit his win so easily?

-o-

Denzel tore round a corner and paused to looked around before spotting a familiar, slightly younger looking girl and shook his head, approaching her.

"Hey, I told you not to follow me here. You don't have shoes and your feet are already…" he trailed off as the girl frowned at him. Her pigtails were high on her head and her clothes were tattered and ripped. Like Denzel, she wore no shoes but this was clearly a usual occurrence, as her feet and legs were caked in a thick layer of filth from the streets. Denzel only shrugged and rolled his eyes, crouching to place his shoes on the ground, facing her. "Here… you can wear them for a while, but I need them later, so don't ruin them."

The girl didn't smile, just nodded and slowly slid the shoes on before reaching out to take the other's hand. Under her left arm, she possessed a faded and dirty Moogle plush which had lost half an arm and both eyes. Its stitching seemed to be coming loose along the belly of the creature but it held together as she tugged Denzel without a word along the wall they were hidden behind and back along the field. They appeared behind the bleachers and it was clear to Denzel what the girl was after.

She didn't talk the whole time, but opened her mouth once something had caught her eye and smiled back at him, pointing to an ominous-looking group of three silver-haired Strugglers, but more importantly, their bags. Denzel wrinkled his nose a little and shuffled his weight from one leg to the other uncomfortably.

"I don't know…they look kinda scary, if they find us they might eat us." Shock flashed across her face which quickly turned into an annoyed frown as Denzel laughed at the expression, and she pushed him. He giggled and shrugged with a whispered "Alright" and motioned for her to stay put as he slowly crept over.

Kadaj, Yazoo and Loz were too busy arguing over the events of the day, and Ventus' 'win' to notice one of the team's backpacks being stolen from a small gap in between two seat stands. Denzel slipped in and back out again expertly and slung the backpack over his own shoulders before rounding on his female companion, and the two made a run for it down the grassy court until they could find a way out.

Ventus wandered into plain view, the centre of the gateway exit and looked around, clueless, wondering where Denzel had run off to. When he spotted the two youngsters heading towards him, he only recognised the curly haired freshman and held his palms up, pleading with them to stop.

"Whoa, whoa, not so fast… Denzel, right?" He glanced down worriedly at the two, who both seemed to be out of breath and Denzel was still holding the couple-sizes-too-big-for-him backpack. He looked to the girl, nervously, then back up at Ventus.

"Y...yes?" Ven smiled.

"I'm Ventus! But you can call me Ven. I...saw you run out of your Struggle and came to see if anything was wrong."

It wasn't long before Loz grew tired of the arguing and left it up to his brothers after being mocked. He felt like crying but knew he'd get teased even further by both his siblings and the rest of the Western team if he did so. So he simply went to find his bag and eat.
After searching all over the ground, the bleachers, the neighbouring benches and forcibly accusing several random onlookers of stealing his backpack, he turned and spotted a crevice in between two stands where something could have easily fallen down. He stepped through and looked around, his left side meeting a wall of scaffolding – nothing could've gotten there – and his right side paralleling a long wall with three figures stood at the other end. His eyes narrowed and he soon spotted a familiar dark-coloured backpack resting against some pint-sized thief's back.
'You little..'

-o-

By now, Ventus had bent down to the two other's level and reached out to place one hand on Denzel's shoulder with a reassuring smile. The young girl only watched and tugged on her friend's hand, reminding him they had to go silently, but Denzel didn't seem to notice.

"Is it because you got nervous?" Ventus smiled somewhat flippantly and shrugged. "This is my first Struggle Tournament too. Xehanort's pretty tough but I knew I was too scared to try it last year when I was still a freshman, like you. Just go for it and you'll start to be more confident in your skills. Trust me, alright?" He offered a kind smile and Denzel returned it, unsure why; Ventus just seemed like someone he could trust, even if he had gotten the reason he had run away from his fight completely wrong.

By now, Loz had jogged the length of the wall and was a mere few metres away behind the two children before he called out, a low, out-of-breath grunt escaping through his words.

"Hey! You stole my backpack!" Denzel turned and stepped back and tugged the brunet girl by his side, too. Ventus could see they were both terrified, and now knew why that bag looked so big on him. Loz stepped forward and fisted the front of Denzel's shirt and all four present heard a rip as his own threadbare clothing ripped a tiny bit more at the strain. "How would you like it if I ran around stealing your stuff, huh, you little rat?"

Ventus frowned and that and stepped forward, pulling Denzel from the irate silverette's grip and pushing both of the youngsters behind him.

"Hey, back off, it's not their fault if you leave your stuff lying around everywhere." Loz eyed the blond before smirking and taking a step closer.

"You're that scrawny lightweight from before, aren't you? The one my brother gave his win to." His words bubbled into a mocking laughter and Ventus stepped back again, arms fanned out slightly to keep the two children behind him protected.

"S-So what if I am.." He countered defensively. Loz shrugged and his grin deepened, stepping forward more and effectively filtering Ventus and the children out into the open gateway leading out into the field, and right into a certain auric-coloured eye-line.

"Oh… so you admit that you're a waste of time. I bet your Master finds it hard to give you the time of day." He laughed again.

Ventus backed away more, caring more about keeping the two behind him safe from Loz who was tall, strong and angry-looking. The Senior in question seemed to get angrier and angrier with every step he had to take forward until Denzel's back hit against a wall and they couldn't move away anymore. Loz had them cornered and he knew that, Ven could tell by the way his grin grew.

"Well, well, well.." He started, taking in a deep breath before raising an eyebrow and leaning forward to Ventus' level. "Looks like the pacifist can't run away any more. How 'bout that."

He flashed his teeth in a grin and stood straight, pulling his fist back and lunging. Ventus squeezed his eyes shut and braced himself for the impact but… never felt it.

The sound of Loz's footsteps had seized and the first thing the blond saw when he dared to open his eyes was "SOUTHERN STUGGLE COMBAT" imprinted in crimson, embedded into the back of a black track jacket. His eyes trailed up to meet a mass raven hair, just as unruly as his own, and Loz's shock-evident stare.

"Well, well, well.." An unfamiliar voice sounded. One Ventus hadn't heard in a long time. "Looks like the comedy relief of the West Island can't throw a decent punch anymore." Ventus could almost feel the ravenette's smirk and Loz just glared, gritting his teeth in a brief moment of silence. ".. How 'bout that."

Vanitas thrust a hand forward, letting go of Loz's fist and causing the silverette to lose his balance slightly. Denzel and his pigtailed friend took the opportunity to flee out from behind Ventus whilst they could and chased each other into the main school building. Loz stumbled back and growled, glaring down at the two.

"Wh…Whatever, I'm not down for playing these games with you, you're that Freak everyone tells me about." He shot Vanitas a look, then over the Junior's shoulder at Ventus before turning and hurrying away back to his team, like a dog with its tail between its legs.

Moments passed and Vanitas didn't turn around to look at the blond. Ventus only stared, unsure of how.. why he was even there. Had Vanitas really just protected him?

"..You're.." He started but the words wouldn't come. He stayed behind the other in a stunned silence, staring up at him with wide eyes pleading for answers to so many questions. Vanitas just took in a deep breath and silence befell, isolating the two from everything around them; save for the vague sounds of the crowds and the battles and the sea.

A/N: WHEW *-* big chapter!

Not much to say about this one OTHER THAN I know I haven't given Moogle Girl a name yet and there's good reason for that which will be announced later on!

Also, I'm not too happy with the way I write battles/action-y-type scenes, so hopefully I'll get better at those with practise and be/lieve/ me, there's a lot of action planned out in this story :I

Really hope you liked this one guys! Now I'm hoping since Vani and Ven will properly meet, it gets more interesting~! Stay tuned and PLEASE, /PLEASE/ review!

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